Decency and Honor
by Mary James
Summary: Otherwise known as: Elizabeth, or, How Decency and Honor Were Sacrificed En Route to Freedom. Elizabeth lets herself give in. JackElizabeth


Author's Note/ Disclaimer  
Set after the persuasion/curiosity arguement in "Dead Man's Chest". Jack/Elizabeth, very mild, I wish I could pull off raunchier stuff. Anyway, I don't own any "Pirates" characters, Disney does, Enjoy and Review!

_"Elizabeth" or "How Decency and Honor Were Sacrificed En Route to Freedom"._

"Curious thing, there was a time when I would have given anything for you to look like that while thinking about me."

Elizabeth glared at the former Commodore James Norrington. It appeared that both men she had been set to marry had also been destined to turn into pirates. Or something quite close to them. Just drunken sailors perhaps.

"I don't know what you are talking about." she declared, hopefully in what was a convincing manner. To herself she sounded unsure, like a child trying to keep a secret hidden.

"Oh please." He walked away, disgusted.

The truth was, Norrington was right. There she was, grinning like a young girl, as if thinking about that handsome suitor who had been by earlier. Wondering, perhaps, if he would ask her to dance later at the Governor's Ball?  
But it was hard to imagine Jack Sparrow, with his punch-drunk manner of sauntering into trouble and his unruly attire, dancing a waltz at the Governor's Ball.  
Yet, around him she felt like a child again. A little girl, obsessed with pirates. Wishing that one day she would meet one, and he would whisk her away to adventure and romance on the high seas.

* * *

Curiosity, as it is well known, is a strange thing. It behaves in odd manners. At your most vulnerable moments it will spring forward and inevitably get the best of you. Curiosity pays no heed to restrictions or decency. It is pure impluse and want, a highly dangerous combination.

* * *

Elizabeth Swann could not bring herself to admit that she was afraid to get what she wanted. Sure she could tease and entice, but she could not follow through. Or _persuade, _so to speak. Mostly she was afraid that when she did get what she wanted, there would be no turning back.  
Because what Elizabeth really wanted, was freedom. It felt extremely cliche when she said it aloud to herself, but it was true nonetheless. And she knew it was all his fault. What with his bloody ship and his blasted ideas about open seas and what a ship really was and that horribly clear night with all those stars...  
And as much as she loved Will, he could not give her that same freedom. And thankfully (she was ashamed to say it) she wasn't married, not yet. She should have been, would have been, had fate not intervened. Perhaps, had she and Will not been arrested, she would now be Mrs.William Turner. On the other hand, she could also have easily been Mrs. James Norrington as well. 

But to Will she was still a delicate young lady that needed his protection. Will was brave and noble, but Will was not exciting and dangerous. In short, Will was not a pirate. And therefore, Will could not give her what she wanted. Her freedom, as it now appeared, came in the form of a certain dark eyed captain.

* * *

The night was still and humid, the salt hanging heavy in the air. She was on watch on top deck, having just sent Cotton away for some well-deserved sleep. But of course, Jack knew that. She had seen him coming. Had she not happened to glance down at that particular moment, he would have had the element of surprise, which she knew he was counting on. He was dead quiet, and could slip in and out of the shadows, and she was almost laughing at his effort.  
She turned and pretended to be looking out to sea. Seconds later he was noisily making his way up the steps.

"It's not fun anymore. You saw me coming." He sounded honestly disappointed.  
"I just started shift Jack, you don't have to relieve me yet."  
"Of course, I know that. I just thought you might want some company, it's awfully lonely up here you know." He was grinning at her, and the rings on his fingers glittered a bit in the moonlight.  
She turned to hide her smile, "Jack Sparrow, you are really trying your damnedst aren't you?"  
"I can't help it love, and there'll be no denying you're curious."  
"Yes but unlike you Mr. Sparrow, I have a sense of decency and honor that you-"

He cut her off before she could elaborate, "Lizzie, let's be honest here. We both know that you are about as far from decency as a young lady such as yourself can get. The only things less decent than you and I are beggars and whores."  
"How dare you even compare-" she began, outraged, before Jack attempted to stop her by putting a ringed finger to her lips. She smacked his hand away.  
"But- listen to me! But you have a sense of honor. You're out to save dear William, are you not? Your one...true...love?"

It was a question. She knew what he was doing. He was testing her, daring her to answer. Because either way she answered, he would win. He always bloody won. Because he was Captain Jack Sparrow, and the foolish young Elizabeth Swann could not help herself.

"Or perhaps," Jack started, grinning and daring to lean a bit closer. "You're not as honorable as you think you are, Miss Swann."

She reached out with one hand and toyed with the edge of his shirt collar, remembering the scars that hid beneath the thin white material.  
"No Mr. Sparrow, I don't think I am."


End file.
